Tuesday in India: Diwali Ad That Leaves a Pleasant Sound In Your Ears

I love celebrating Diwali in India - such a light, sweet, beautiful celebration.

What makes my skin crawl is the terrible noise pollution which comes hand in hand.

Big Bazaar also created some noise this Diwali but with cracking advertisement, conceptualized by DDB Mudra West.

'Paper Pathaka' (pathaka = cracker) is fun, joyful and brings an intelligible message.

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Friday Research: Make It Rain - The Bliss of Coupons

You thought:   

Consumers only crave coupons for the thrill of knowing that they discovered a good deal. But is that it? Check some fresh insight into consumers' psychology below.

New facts:  

As per just produced research, people who received a coupon had a 14% increase in oxytocin, an 8% decrease in the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin, a 4% decrease in heart rate, a 27% decrease in respiration, a 4% decrease in skin conductance levels, and a 90% increase in high-frequency heart rate variability. These factors showed almost no change for those who did not receive a coupon.

Mamamia! There is a real, measurable change in people‘s bodies and mental state from using coupons. Better mood. Happy high. Sweet relaxation. Do you know that oxytocin (which increased by 14% in coupon-holders blood) is also known as the love hormone and it profusely floods the systems of new lovers during the first six months? 

What Marketing Doctor ordered:

Short and simple - coupons is cheap, easy and nontoxic high for your customers so.. keep them coming, folks!


Source: Veronika, A., Tripp, S., & Paul J. Zak, P. J. Preliminary evidence for the neurophysiologic effects of online coupons: Changes in oxytocin, stress, and mood. Psychology of Marketing, 32, 2015.

P.S. When you’re done reading, I’d love for you to share your best experience with coupons? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: Umbrella That Protects Against Rain… and Thugs?

I love the idea of the empowerment of Indian women.

An initiative by Vodafone conceptualized by Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai is aiming to protect women in small towns, using their own hands and...umbrellas!

Watch the introduction of "The Self-Defense Umbrella" below.

Don't get me wrong but to me this looks like a gimmick unless you see it in action.




P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: The Cuckoo Ramesh and Suresh Are Back

I was exposed to Ramesh-Suresh jokes since I started attending college in India.

The crazy siblings were mentioned during the classes, lunch breaks and especially, sleepovers.

Cadbury keeps bringing this hilarious (?) duo back to the ads over and over and over because they do the trick. They are weird, nutty as fruitcake and funny - just the mix young Indians like.

If you don't smile after watching this, then at least it will give you pause for reflection.

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Friday Research: Pick Customer's Brains in Your Ads But Thoughtfully

You thought:   

The question in an ad ("This car is for you?") influences your customer more than a statement ("This car is for you.") because it invites him to think about something and reach his own conclusion, hence, he gets more involved in the whole "process" and perhaps more likely to buy.
Remember the success of "Got Milk?", "Did somebody say McDonald’s?“ or "Where’s the beef?”? It’s a question, again.

New facts:  

If the stimuli around the consumer are dreary and dull (ordinary visuals, boring music, etc.), they stimulate low arousal, and unaroused consumers respond favorably to questions.
If stimuli around the consumer are exciting and flashy (thrilling visuals, dramatic music, etc), they stimulate high arousal and aroused consumers respond more favorably to statements.

What Marketing Doctor ordered:

Use your logic for when to ask questions and when to give statements. Aroused consumers want clarity, they want simple information so they can act on it. Calm, relaxed consumers want stimuli that peak their curiosity.

Simple statement will probably be more persuasive in your ad if it is demonstrated in an exciting event, during energetic speeches, during an intermission of an action movie, in some stimulating, visually attractive website, near a thrilling story in the magazine, during supermarket‘s holiday sale and so on. As the author of the research says, "If the ad itself or the material in which it is embedded involves topics of a sexual, competitive, dangerous, or thrilling nature, the current research suggests that a statement style is likely to be more effective, even if a question style could appeal to consumers' curiosity under other circumstances..".

Under normal circumstances your promotional phrase might be more persuasive as a question, especially during slow-moving speeches, relaxing TV programmes, typical shopping days..well, you get the idea.


Source: Henrik Hagtvedt. Promotional phrases as questions versus statements: An influence of phrase style on product evaluation.Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2015.

P.S. When you’re done reading, I’d love for you to share your experience with promotional phrases in your marketing? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: Would You Guess What Is The Original Social Network?

Apparently, it's a hop, skip and a jump from beer to social network.

Or are these two some kind of Bobbsey twins with same birdie tattoo?

The new Kingfisher ad brings no great shakes but it's OK for me.

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: The Cement Ad Which Everyone Is Talking About

You wouldn't expect much creativity from a cement ad.

But mix nice idea with India's WWE World Champion Great Khali and you'll get a 'Wow' feature.

In the end, it tickles the same idea I had for years after living in there -  oh, just stop building crappy houses in India.

I'm sure the team behind this ad got some inspiration from the time-honoured ad on Mr. Wind:



P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!